A new review site will speak on behalf of the animals at wildlife attractions around the world and give TripAdvisor-style ratings to the best and worst of them.

Care for the Wild International has launched Zoo Review to provide assessments of tourist parks that feature animals, from giants such as SeaWorld to small koala petting parks.

Chris Pitt, Care for the Wild's RIGHT-tourism campaign manager, said: 'Most people who visit zoos and animal attractions won't bother to check reviews online, but those who do will most likely check out the TripAdvisor and Google reviews - these can be a great measure in many ways, but when it comes to animal welfare, they aren't always accurate.'

The Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand was given a positive appraisal on Zoo Review

The Care for the Wild's RIGHT-tourism initiative looks at animal welfare in interactive wildlife attractions

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Zoo Review is starting in Thailand with ten reviews of some of the most popular animal attractions and zoos in a country that has a notoriously poor reputation for animal welfare.

Ratings range from 'best in class' to 'unacceptable'.

'Some of the tiger attractions in Thailand are a case in point,' Pitt says. 'These places will get lots of five-star reviews because people get to meet tigers – how cool is that? But often these reviewers won't see the chains holding the tigers down, the sticks that hit them or the tiny enclosures they are kept in.

'Zoo Review aims to supplement these reviews by focusing purely on the animal welfare side of things. It's an internet-based review system – like TripAdvisor, we're not actually visiting these places, we're relying on the information available in reviews, in blogs and news stories, and on websites. We're basically doing the research that anyone could do – but that most don't.'

Major attractions including SeaWorld will come under the microscope in the TripAdvisor-style site

Zoo Review looks behind the marketing and assesses attractions back on real experiences

The initiative aims to reward places that do the right thing with positive publicity, and steer tourists away from the places that don't.

'It's sometimes easy to point out what people shouldn't do, but they also want to know what they can do, for example how do they see elephants without taking part in an elephant trek, which can be harmful?' says Pitt.

'Zoo Review will enable us to flag up the best in class, and point tourists towards them. By doing that, and by warning people of the zoos or animal attractions with the poorest conditions, we can not only help tourists do the right thing, but ultimately cause a shift in behaviour and understanding which will lead to improved conditions for the animals, which is the whole point of doing this.'

'A lot of zoos say they do a lot of work in terms of conservation – but do they really? And are the interactions with animals, for example, done in the best interests of the animals and education, or purely for entertainment?

'So yes, we’ll be looking at SeaWorld, London Zoo and so on. If they truly deserve the best in class review, then they’ll get it; but if there are flaws that people need to know about then we’ll point them out too.'

A dog, a tiger and a pig share an enclosure at Sriracha Tiger Zoo, which Zoo Review says should be avoided

BEST AND WORST OF THAILAND'S ANIMAL ATTRACTIONS - ZOO REVIEW

BEST IN CLASS

Elephant Nature Park: 'Overall this is a seemingly incredible place to support where you can to see “happy” elephants. If you believe that animals have the right to live a peaceful and natural (as best as can be afforded) life, free from fear or pain or distress then this would be a place to go to in Thailand.'

AVERAGE

Safari World, Bangkok:The animal ‘shows’ draw a lot of praise, but here is where problems occur. While elephant parades, dolphin shows and orangutan boxing may please the customers, they are hiding almost certain animal cruelty. While orangutans hitting each other is more obviously abusive, tourists will not see the violent and cruel training methods that must be used to ‘train’ an elephant. There is no indication that Safari World is any different.

BEST IN CLASS

Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary: 'A caring and loving sanctuary that strives to provide the best life they can for rescued elephants. They have fields and forests that the elephants wander around and actively encourage them to form herds and breed. Their goal is to set up a reserve for the elephants to be released into.

AVERAGE

Maesa Elephant Camp: Maesa states that it was the first elephant camp in Thailand to achieve international accreditation for animal safety and welfare, but there is significant room for improvement. Despite presenting itself as ‘a new-age elephant camp which gives… visitors a real glimpse into the lives and facts about elephants’, the camp prioritises 'entertainment’ (unnatural animal behaviours) over educational, conservational or animal welfare goals.

Elephant Nature Park: 'Overall this is a seemingly incredible place to support where you can to see “happy” elephants. If you believe that animals have the right to live a peaceful and natural (as best as can be afforded) life, free from fear or pain or distress then this would be a place to go to in Thailand.'

Safari World, Bangkok:The animal ‘shows’ draw a lot of praise, but here is where problems occur. While elephant parades, dolphin shows and orangutan boxing may please the customers, they are hiding almost certain animal cruelty. While orangutans hitting each other is more obviously abusive, tourists will not see the violent and cruel training methods that must be used to ‘train’ an elephant. There is no indication that Safari World is any different.

Khao Kheow Open Zoo: This reviewer would warn against this zoo and suggest that sanctuaries and reserves are more worthy of your money. That said, if you wish to visit a zoo whilst in Thailand then this would be better than most of the others. Animals are allowed to wander rather than being in small cages, and there is a focus on studying the animals and reintroducing them to the wild. However there are animal shows, which can often lead to cruelty.

POOR

Tiger Kingdom, Chiang Mai: Tourists searching online for reviews of the Tiger Kingdom will be greeted with many five-star reviews, however, further research shows that the animal welfare standards may not be as high as they first appear. Although Tiger Kingdom seems preferable over Tiger Temple, there is still much cause for concern over animal welfare.

UNACCEPTABLE

Tiger Temple: The Zoo Review score is perhaps higher than it could have been, due to good reviews on TripAdvisor and Google. It is obvious that many people love the Tiger Temple as it gives them the chance to get close to the tigers. Many claim not to see evidence of mistreatment or cruelty. However, focusing purely on animal welfare criteria, the Tiger Temple seems to deserve an Unacceptable rating, as the conditions of the tigers is of extreme concern.

Sriracha Tiger Zoo: Tourists searching online for reviews of the Sriracha Tiger Zoo will be greeted with many positive reviews; however a greater number speak of the unsanitary conditions the animals live in, the rough handling of tiger cubs and the evident fear and intimidation of tigers during the shows. These conditions and the treatment of the animals are of huge concern to animal welfare experts and wildlife charities, and therefore, we recommend that Sriracha Tiger Zoo should be avoided.

Samui Aquarium and Tiger Zoo: The welfare of the animals here appears secondary to making money and entertaining the visitors. No education, conservation or reintroductions are performed by the zoo in direct contradiction of the principles of “ethical zoos”. The relatively high score is more indicative of lack of internet exposure than positive aspects of the animals' welfare.

Phuket Zoo: One of the most popular attractions in Thailand, but by all accounts it’s a horrific place for the animals, with poor conditions and severe abuse reported. Crocodiles were found to have piled up due to lack of space while tigers and elephants were chained and drugged for the shows. Animals were also found to have severely abused for the photographs. Reviewers strongly urge this zoo to close down until its situation is improved.